Harmeet Dhillon, a key ally of President Donald Trump, who reshaped the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to push his priorities including voter data requests and gun rights cases, has resigned.
Chandigarh, India-born Sikh conservative firebrand lawyer Dhillon is the first high-ranking Trump ally to resign from the administration in the wake of Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats won back both chambers of Congress.
“Dhillon, led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months,” Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X Thursday announcing her resignation. “She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor.”
In a post on X, Dhillon thanked Trump for the opportunity and said her office “ushered in the downfall of illegal DEI, we fought to protect women and girls’ sports, and so much more.”
READ:Dhillon warns of legal action over Mamdani remark (April 19, 2026)
Dhillon oversaw a complete reshaping of the division’s priorities to advance Trump’s agenda, from rolling back consent agreements with police departments around the country, a series of probes targeting elite universities, and an unbroken string of defeats in dozens of lawsuits filed against states pressuring officials to hand over their voter rolls.
The office also saw an unprecedented exodus of hundreds of career attorneys during Dhillon’s tenure, with an estimated 75% departing as of earlier this year according to staffing numbers provided to Congress, ABC News reported.
In a resignation letter, Dhillon cited as accomplishments efforts to force US institutions to scale back diversity initiatives and challenges to school districts over transgender policies. She said she told the White House in October she planned to resign.
She will return to her law firm, The Dhillon Law Group, according to her spokesperson. Her firm had recently shrunk as some attorneys left for other practices.
READ: Harmeet Dhillon questions NYC’s new mental health unit for inmates (April 7, 2026)
Born in Chandigarh, India to a Punjabi Sikh family in 1969, Dhillon moved to London with her family before eventually settling in the United States so her father, Tejpal Singh Dhillon could pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
Dhillon attended elementary school in The Bronx, New York before moving to Smithfield, North Carolina. She attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, graduating at age 16. After finishing high school at age 16, she attended Dartmouth College. She became a writer and eventually editor-in-chief at The Dartmouth Review.
She has served as Director, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California 2001-2004, Director, Support Network for Battered Women (Santa Clara County) 2001-2003, Director, California Women’s Leadership Association(2004-2005; 2008-2009).
She has won several awards including Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal, 2018; “SALDEF Public Service Award” – Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), 2013; “Woman Leader in Law” – The Recorder, 2012 and “Cornerstone Award” – North American South Asian Bar Association, 2012.